A Taste Of Ireland

Here let's discover some uniquely Irish products and ingredients, from steak sauces to potato chips, which are loved by Irish men and women all over the world. A discussion of Irish food in general, not recipes, is what you'll find here. This is the grub and the condiments that make our Irish taste buds tingle.

Rice Krispie Buns are part of every Irish childhood. These little chocolate crispie treats are the centerpieces of Irish birthday parties, and a staple at school fund raising cake sales. They’re easy-to-make, no-bake Irish children’s favorites.

Now when I first moved stateside I was surprised to discover American Rice Krispie Treats are something entirely different.

The American variety is an extremely sweet, sticky, marshmallow and rice cereal square. Not a morsel of chocolate to be found.

In Ireland, America’s beloved Rice Krispie Treats are now available to be purchased as ‘Squares Bars’ made by Kelloggs. But they’ll never replace our Irish Rice Krispie Buns.

These are a simple, but delicious mixture of melted chocolate and rice cereal, shaped in a muffin pan and given the title ‘bun.’ No batter or dough required for these famous buns.

Check out how to make them in this short video. You’ll also find the printable recipe at the end of this post.

Rice Krispie Buns could not be easier to make. Melted chocolate mixed with rice cereal, that’s all that is required, and if you want to make them a little bit fancy, you can add a candy on top. Milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate is usually chosen, especially for children.

When I was a little girl in Dublin in the 1970’s there were no chocolate chips to be bought. Slabs of cooking chocoate were sold in supermarkets. Or if you were really posh, you could melt bars of dairy milk chocolate.

Times have changed in Ireland and chocolate chips are easily found in grocery stores. They’re sold in 4 ounce bags not the larger bags sold in America.

The key to good rice krispie buns is getting the ratio of chocolate to cereal correct. Too little chocolate and the rice krispies will shine through, yielding a light colored bun.

Here is the ratio I like:

2 cups of rice cereal to 4 ounces of chocolate chips.

That translates to 6 cups of rice cereal for an 11.9 ounce bag of chocolate chips, as sold in America. Now that will yield around 36 rice krispie buns.

I usually use 4 cups of cereal to 8 ounces of chocolate or roughly 2/3’s of a bag of chocolate chips to make about 24 buns.

I don’t bother weighing the chocolate chips but eyeball two-thirds of a bag. You can’t go wrong with a little extra chocolate.

Place muffin case liners in two trays.

You don’t necessarily need to use a muffin tray and can simply fill the liners with the mixture. However, I find the metal tray helps the buns to maintain their shape as they harden and become firm.

Melt the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of boiled water, otherwise known as a bain marie.

Pour the melted chocolate over the rice cereal in a large bowl.

Protect your fingers with oven gloves as you handle the hot bowl of melted chocolate.

Use a spatula to scrape all the melted chocolate out of the bowl.

Use a spatula to mix the melted chocolate and rice cereal together.

Be gentle as you combine the ingredients. If you stir too violently the rice cereal will crumble and your buns will lack their distinctive cereal air pockets.

You need to blend the chocolate and cereal thoroughly to ensure all of the rice krispies are fully coated in chocolate. Scoop down into the bottom of the bowl to mix the cereal hiding way down there.

Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin cases.

The number of buns yielded by this recipe depends on how much you fill each muffin compartment.

Top each bun with a Smartie, if you’re in Ireland, or an M&M if you’re in America.

Set the buns aside to cool and allow the chocolate to harden again.

And that’s all there is to it. Ireland’s favorite children’s treat are beyond easy to make, but will never lose their appeal.

When some Irish mother’s hear there is a cake sale or bake sale at their child’s school they slave for hours over a hot stove baking their finest confectioneries.

Little do they know, the treats that sell out first and are in highest demand are these no-fuss, easy peasy rice krispie buns.

What’s a cake sale without rice krispie buns.

At Halloween I love to get creative and I use this basic Irish rice krispie bun recipe to create chocolate spiders. These make a lovely center piece for Halloween get togethers. Here’s how I make my Chocolate Rice Krispie Spiders for Halloween.

For those of you who were born in Ireland, I hope this post brought back happy memories of childhood birthday parties, and for all my Irish American readers I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial about Irish Rice Krispie Treats.

I love to support Irish businesses and help spread the word about their products whenever I can, so when the good folks at Five Farms contacted me to let me know about their plans for expansion throughout the United States, I thought you too might be interested.

Introducing Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur From County Cork:

Five Farms is the highest-scoring Irish cream in history and will be the exclusive Irish cream at both of these celebrated Irish festivals this summer.

Five Farms is a single-batch Irish cream liqueur from County Cork, Ireland, that derives its name from the five family-owned farms in the region that provide the product’s rich dairy cream.

It contains ten-year-old, triple-distilled Irish whiskey, providing an intensity of whiskey flavor that sets it apart from every Irish cream in the world.

Five Farms contains 10% Irish Whiskey while most brands use less than 1%. This difference is significant, especially if you are a fan of Irish Cream.

Five Farms is a true farm-to-table product, crafted from single batches of fresh cream that are combined with Irish Whiskey within 48 hours to become authentic Irish Cream Liqueur.

Five Farms is made with rich, smooth and sweet Irish dairy cream. The mild climate and abundant rainfall in County Cork make it the ideal place for raising dairy cattle on fertile farms of lush green fields. These happy cows spend their days basking in the fresh sea air and grazing on sweet, succulent green grass. Ireland’s cows produce the highest quality milk and cream which is very evident to the taste buds when sipping this delicious drink.

County Cork is also home to the centuries-old tradition of distilling authentic Irish Whiskey. Premium triple-distilled Irish Whiskey has a smoothness and complexity that add depth to the sweetness of this Irish Cream.

Five Farms sent me a lovely gift set of their Single Batch Irish Cream Liqueur. The moment I opened the box, I fell in love with their quirky milk churn bottle, plus it came with two perfectly sized glasses for sipping Irish cream.

This gift box is beautifully designed, and after falling in love with the presentation, I was equally bowled over by the flavor of this delicious liqueur. It’s rich and creamy, with a satisfying whiskey flavor.

This liqueur has a lovely nutty brown color. This Irish cream is luxuriously smooth, and then the best part of all, is the boozy warmth of the Irish whiskey balanced to perfection with notes of caramel.

I definitely give it two thumbs up, and my husband quickly raised his glass for a top up after enjoying his first taste of this distinctive Irish cream.

Five Farms At The Kansas City Irish Fest:

Five Farms is imported to the United States by Holladay Distillery in Weston, MO, the oldest business in the Kansas City area.

The brand launched in Missouri in December and was immediately embraced by the local Irish community.

“Five Farms has been enormously popular with our guests,” said Nancy Wormington, Executive Director, Kansas City Irish Center. “The product itself is superior, but supporting family-owned farms in Ireland as well as a local Kansas City business is also right in line with our mission.”

A partnership with Kansas City Irish Fest was a natural extension of this relationship.

“We’re always excited to introduce new products to our guests, especially when they have a connection to Ireland and Kansas City! It’s absolutely a winning combination for our festival,” said Keli O’Neill Wenzel, Executive Director, Kansas City Irish Fest.

This celebration of Celtic pride brings the soul of Ireland to the heart of the Midwest with the best blend of Irish music, education, and “great craic.”

Distribution Throughout The United States By 2019:

The brand has enjoyed a successful early launch in Missouri and Wisconsin, and was awarded the Chairman’s Trophy at the 2018 Ultimate Spirits Challenge with a score of 97, the highest score ever awarded to an Irish Cream at this prestigious competition.

“The response to this brand has been remarkable,” said Mick Harris, president of Holladay Distillery. “Both retailers and consumers have been excited by the authenticity, the quality, and the taste of Five Farms. Demand is high and we’re working hard to get it into as many hands as possible.”

Five Farms will then start shipping to these six states by the end of July:

AlabamaCaliforniaMarylandMassachusettsNew YorkNorth Carolina

Additional states will launch in August and September, with availability in 30 total states by October and full national distribution by early 2019.

But in the meantime, if you’re going to be around Milwaukee or Kansas City, you can stop by the Irish Festivals to taste a little of this delicious Irish Cream Liqueur.

And if you like to create delicious desserts with Irish Cream Liqueur, then I highly recommend Five Farms. This distinctive mellow whiskey blend is perfect for Irish Cream Cheesecakes, or any dessert creations that call for an Irish Cream liqueur.

I developed a delicious Berry Irish Cream Mousse recipe using Five Farms. The mellow whiskey of Five Farms Irish Cream blended magnificently with this no-egg, cream based berry mousse. It’s a perfect summertime, no bake, easy dessert.

Wishing the Irish families whose five farms in West Cork, Ireland supply the cream for this Irish Cream Liqueur, every success with their new business venture.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Disclosure Notice: I received a free gift box of Five Farms Irish Cream liqueur to try and I used it to create a Berry Irish Cream Mousse. I did not receive any sponsorship payment for this post. The views expressed are my own.

A Little Irish Ice Cream History:

Ice cream was only available in Italian parlors or large Woolworths stores in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

But everything changed in the 1930’s when the Hughes Brothers of Hazelbrook Farm in Rathfarnham built an ice cream factory to use up their excess milk. Ireland’s famous HB ice cream brand was born, and continues to this very day.

However, the Hughes brothers could produce far more ice cream than the few shops capable of selling this frozen treat were able to handle. Now, the electricity grid was under construction in Ireland right at this time and the shrewd Hughes brothers targeted the expanding Dublin suburbs to promote their growing business.

They agreed to purchase state-of-the art American fridges for retailers if they agreed to only stock HB ice cream in their new freezers. They also purchased cold storage trucks to transport the ice cream to the shops.

To maximize storage and make this whole process as efficient as possible, they created the block of ice cream. Perfectly regular rectangles were designed for stacking with no empty air pockets between the blocks. Ice cream was soon shipped in truck fulls all around Dublin.

Women could purchase an ice cream block, wrap it in newspaper to keep it cool and bring it home as a special creamy treat for all the family.

Ice Cream Sandwiches:

Now! Not everyone could afford a whole block of ice cream, so it was time for shrewd shop keepers to come up with a solution for selling single servings of ice cream. The ice cream sandwich was quickly embraced.

A block of ice cream and thin rectangular wafers were the two simple ingredients required. Soon children around Dublin were enjoying cool wafers of sandwiched ice cream. For those with a little bit of money, an after-Mass ice cream sandwich on a Sunday became a status symbol.

These treats were still very popular in Ireland in the 1970’s. In Dublin these sandwiches were often called “ice cream sliders.”

I remember paying about 3 or 4 pence for a slider back when I was a chisler in Dublin and I enjoyed many an ice cream sandwich after mass or a trip to the beach. Of course, by the 1970’s the 99 ice cream cone had grown in popularity so there was a little bit of competition for the trusty slider. But 99 ice cream cones are a topic for another day.

Some shopkeepers even had a special slicer for creating perfectly equal ice cream portions out of each block of ice cream.

Ice Cream Sandwiches At Home:

But the best and tastiest ice cream sandwiches were the ones our mothers made. Irish mammies know exactly how thick a good ice cream sandwich should be.

Who remembers ice cream wafer sandwiches like our Irish mammies used to make?

If you were born in Ireland in the 1960’s or 1970’s you’ll immediately think of ice cream when you hear the question ….

Will you have that in a bowl or in a wafer?

Irish ice cream sandwiches differ from their American cousins, in that plain and crispy vanilla wafers are used, not the thick and soft chocolate variety preferred in the USA.

Ever so simple, but tantalizingly delicious, ice cream sandwiches continue to be a summer time favorite. I fondly remember the joy when my mother would appear at the front door on a hot summer evening with a plate of ice cream sandwiches for every kid playing on the street.

In the summer months she always seemed to have a block of HB ice cream at the ready, and an endless supply of crispy vanilla wafers. I have no idea where she hid those little treats, because if I had known her secret hiding place, there might have been a severe wafer shortage whenever an ice cream sandwich was on the menu.

But if my mom inevitably ran into a “no wafer” scenario, two Rich Tea or Marietta biscuits were called into action to sandwich that slice of ice cream.

The Art Of Eating An Ice Cream Sandwich:

Eating an ice cream sandwich was an art form skillfully learned over years of childhood practice.

My technique involved licking around the sides of the ice cream, taking care not to scrape my tongue on the sharp edges of the wafers. As the ice cream reduced in size, a gentle squeeze of the wafers pushed more ice cream out to the edges.

Once the wafers started to meet it was time to take a bite. I liked to eat all the ice cream before the wafers went soggy. Ice cream sandwich eating was pretty intense work to avoid a soggy scenario, especially if you were lucky enough to get an extra thick slice of vanilla goodness between your two wafers.

Remember Daniel Day Lewis as Christy Brown in the film “My Left Foot” asking his mam for “neapolitan” when she was off to pick up a block of ice cream.

Ice Cream Sandwiches – An Irish Treat:

But no matter which flavor your family preferred, I think one thing everyone can agree upon is that you can’t beat a good ice cream on a sunny summer’s day.

And ice cream sandwiches were, and still are, one of the very best ice cream treats in the whole wide world, especially for anyone born and raised in Ireland.

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Disclosure Notice: This is an affiliate link below which means I will earn a small commission should you choose to make a purchase through this link.

I learned all about the history of the ice cream block in a little book of Irish history and stories called “From Clerys Clock to Wanderly Wagon – Irish History You Weren’t Taught At School” by Damian Corless. Here’s a link if you would like to check it out.

Irish salad sandwiches have been made by nearly every Irish house wife over the past five decades. Sometimes called egg and onion sandwiches, or egg and tomato sandwiches, these triangular sandwiches may or may not include lettuce.

I include lettuce in my version, but trust me, there is no right or wrong way to make a salad sandwich. It’s totally up to you whether you like more egg than tomato, or salad cream rather than mayonnaise to mix the filling.

Made for get togethers big and small, these are a staple of quick entertaining menus in Ireland.

Many a plate of salad sandwiches has been whipped together to bring to a funeral gathering or wake, or for a family Christening, Communion or Confirmation celebration.

Hotels often serve these sandwiches as a light nibble at the end of wedding celebrations.

Mrs. Doyle’s Diagonals:

These are the sandwiches Mrs. Doyle made famous when she said ….

“They’re diagonals!”

Mrs. Doyle is a TV character from the brilliant comedy “Fr. Ted”.

An ever diligent housekeeper, Mrs. Doyle made sandwiches by the dozen, cut in diagonals and served with aplomb to bishops and parishoners alike. Who can forget her urging????

“Ah, go on, go on, go on!

You’ll have one”

Never refuse a diagonal from Mrs. Doyle. She’s mashed eggs by the dozen and carefully removed top crusts to make the most delicious Irish salad sandwiches ever!!!!

Pregnancy Cravings for Salad Sandwiches:

My yearning for salad sandwiches was reignited when I was pregnant with my triplets. My mother came over from Ireland to help me towards the end of my pregnancy, and one day she made me salad sandwiches for lunch.

I had forgotten how delicious this mix of egg, tomato, onion and lettuce can be. I was hooked. I ate my mom’s diagonals by the dozen until my trio were born. Perhaps that’s why my little girl loves these sandwiches for lunch.

I’m still known to whip up a batch for a girls only lunch.

Sandwich Size:

Now, Irish sandwiches are far thinner than their American counterparts.

The old saying goes that everything is bigger and better in America. Sandwiches definitely fit the bigger bill, but maybe not better. Equal and different in deliciousness is how I will judge this taste contest.

I’ll never forget my first American work day lunch at the hospital canteen in Elmira, New York.

I ordered a sandwich at the deli counter, expecting a one inch high Irish sandwich, only to be astounded by the door-step size mountain that appeared before me.

I don’t think I finished a quarter of that sandwich. I quickly learned to order a half sandwich for lunch in the hospital canteen.

These salad sandwiches would fit the category of tea sandwich in America.

Here’s how I make them…..

Ingredients for Irish Salad Sandwiches.

4 slices of sandwich bread

1 to 2 ounces of butter to spread on bread

2 hard boiled eggs

1 Roma tomato or 2 small petite tomatoes

2 green onions or scallions

2 leaves of butter lettuce

1/8 cup of mayonnaise

Salt and pepper

Directions For Irish Egg Salad Sandwiches:

Here’s a quick video showing how I make these savory sandwiches. Or just keep reading for step-by-step photos and written instructions.

It’s important to scoop the pulp and seeds out of the tomatoes and only use the outer flesh.

The seeds and pulp making the filling too wet and watery, so I halve my tomatoes and use a teaspoon to scoop out the tomato innards.

In the picture above you can see how juice starts collecting in the scooped out tomato shell. I turn the half tomato shells upside down to drain before I dice them.

Dice the tomato flesh into small 1/2 cm size pieces.

I used 2 cocktail tomatoes which are similar in size to Irish tomatoes. One Roma tomato will work very well for this recipe. They tend to be more fleshy than other tomatoes so just perfect for making this filling.

No big junks needed for these sambos. Just small little pieces.

Slice the green onions very thinly.

I only use the lower white portions, and stop where they get leafy and turn dark green, about 1/2 to 2/3’s way up the stalk.

Next shred the lettuce.

I use Butter lettuce since this was the type of lettuce I knew as a child in Ireland. It’s sold in American grocery stores as “living” lettuce.

This lettuce is softer and less crunchy than Romaine or Iceberg lettuce. If you prefer crunchier texture, then use one of these lettuces.

But I stick to Butter lettuce, to make sandwiches like I knew as a child.

Next it’s time to mix all the filling ingredients together.

Place the mashed egg, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and diced green onion on a plate and mix it with the mayonnaise.

Many Irish cooks use salad cream instead of mayonnaise. This is an egg emulsion similar to mayonnaise but with the addition of vinegar and mustard, and a few secret spices only known to Heinz and the makers of Chef salad cream.

It’s very important to season the filling mixture with salt and pepper.

I don’t use much salt when I cook, but trust me, this filling needs some added salt.

Next it’s time to butter the bread. You can choose not to butter the bread, but in Ireland salad sandwich bread is always buttered.

When preparing the bread, always take two slices and open them so that two matching sides are buttered.

I remember buttering a whole slice pan the wrong way as a child. I just dipped in and buttered the upper side of every slice, instead of taking the slices in pairs and opening them for a perfect match. We learn by our mistakes!

My mom made topsy turvy sandwiches that day, but hey, nothing has to be perfect in life.

Next, divide the filling in two. Spread it over one buttered slice of bread from each pair of slices.

Once you place the top slice on each sandwich, use a bread or serrated knife to remove the top crust. Then cut the sandwich into four triangles, with two diagonal cuts.

In Ireland, I would remove all the crusts, since our sliced pans are much larger than in America. Sliced pan is bigger in Ireland, and I will dare to say much, much better than the American sandwich bread. It’s a lot less sweet. Eliminating all the crusts on an Irish sandwich doesn’t reduce each triangular section to miniscule size like it does in America.

I leave the crusts on in America. I used a country white sliced loaf of bread for these sandwiches, and the crusts are very soft.

And there you have it, Irish salad sandwiches.

They’re delicious served with chips. I only had American barbecue chips for my photo shoot, but my all time favorite is a packet of Tayto cheese and onion crisps with an Irish salad sandwich. Yum-meee!

And don’t forget a cuppa tea to enjoy with your lunch.

These little sandwiches are a perfect addition to any afternoon tea menu. These are always the first tea sandwiches I choose when enjoying an afternoon tea treat.

Ireland’s culinary culture is experiencing a popularity surge. I’ve long loved Irish foods – as you know from reading this blog.

But I’m delighted that the rest of world is now recognizing Ireland for its contributions to the gastronomic world. This trend is no more evident than in the newest offering from CIE Tours – the largest tour operator to Ireland.

Group of friends eating seafood and having fun outside with musicians playing in the background at Johnnie Fox’s pub, Dublin

Savor Ireland Tour:

When you’re on this tour get ready to discover the incredible tastes of Ireland over eight days filled with the flavors of farm-to-fork cheeses, freshly caught seafood, world-famous stouts, Irish coffees, and more. You’ll also hone your cooking skills with interactive food-focused experiences including cooking classes and talks with esteemed chefs.

Highlights of the Savor Ireland Tour:

* Sample the wares at St. Tola Farm, a farm-to-table cheese producer * Feast on freshly-caught seafood platters prepared with the finest local ingredients at the Armada Hotel * Discover the joy of authentic Irish cooking with demonstrations at Dingle Cookery School and at Ballyknocken House, home of television chef and food writer, Catherine Fulvio * Stroll through centuries of brewing excellence and sample featured ales at the VIP Smithwick’s Experience * Relax over dinner at Heather Restaurant and Gardens * Immerse yourself in the food culture of Dublin during an escorted food-focused walking tour * Dine with earls, lords and ladies at a medieval-style Banquet at Knappogue Castle

A medieval feast at Bunratty Castle

Dine at a Michelin Star Restaurant in Dublin:

As if that isn’t enough – CIE Tours has partnered with one of Dublin’s Michelin Star restaurants to offer guest a very special night out – dinner at L’Ecrivain Restaurant.

With only five Michelin Star restaurants in Dublin, you’ll experience some of the finest cuisine the city has to offer.

But you must book Savor Ireland by March 31, 2017 Michelin Star restaurant to enjoy this fine-dining treat!*

Booking Details:

I was delighted to learn about this wonderful Irish food trip organized by CIE tours. The dates for 2017 are outlined below.

But before I share the dates and links with you a little legal update is required, since these links are affiliate links. This means I will earn a commission should you choose to purchase a trip through one of these links on my website.

My main goal in working with CIE tours is to keep you up-to-date on these wonderful travel opportunities, and should you choose to purchase through my site, I thank you sincerely.

And now that I have taken care of that boring legalese, here’s all the yummy details for booking your trip today!